The battle of Dymock (Mercia- UDI 1995)
Causes To gain/maintain control of a strategic border territory and maintain/breaking the integrity of the southern provinces of Herefordshire and Worcestershire. A possible enemy thrust was pointing in the direction of the Malvern Hills. The village of Dymock was sympathetic towards the rebels, but did not want to become a war zone. The battle The rebel-inclined village wished to remain neutral, but was drawn in to the affair without its consent when the Federal forces arrived and began to dig in. The locals largely backed off, but some tryeied to activly help the rebles. A local farmer handed his farm house, grain silo and 2 barns over to the rebel's usage. The Federal forces had also taken over a nearby house and the local pub, which lay about 1,200 foot down a lane to the north of the farm and about 1,500 foot south of Dymock propper on the very same dirt lane on December the 31st. In the eavning 3 German defectors had leaft the near by Tewksbury millitery depot and had taken thier Flakpanzer Gepard AA system with them, which would prove handy in later conflicts. The rebels also had 6 M25 AP mines, which they had located to the rear of there strong point in the farm. The UK forces entered the town on the morning of January the 1st and followed the advice they had reseved fom both a scout they had sent out the previous evening and a local unionist sympathiser who had provided information on the rebels overnight. They were to use this knowledge with due care and planned for the attack. They entered a heavly overgrown zone about 1/2 a mile to the south of the village in the early hours of January 1st, and lay in wate. They knew the use of aircraft was not the best of things to do due to the nearby village and the renagade Flakpanzer Gepard AA system and it's crew. Most of the sqaddies held there ground with the grenade launcher as 3 tanks and 30 men moved around the town to the rebel's rear. A band of 25 men were sent to the edge of the scrub-land, which was with in 1/4 of a mile of the rebel encampment with observation equipment, guns, grenades and 1 of the 50cal' machine guns. 4 M14 anti-personnel land mines helped protect the forward base and another 12 M14 anti-personnel land mines and 3 Bar-mine L9 anti-tank landmines protected the main camp. The British army's armoured detachment did manage to get over 2 citizen's ad-hock baricades as far as Dymock's village square by midday, before beeing beaten back by the determined locals. Back at the forward position they saw the rebels breake up. As a group of rebels went in to town to fight the British and their allies, the main forces made pincer move and attack on the pub to the rear of the farm. The forward position engaged the main front! It was a fierce battle and the rebels suffered heavy losses in both men and metrial, including all thier tanks, but once the Flakpanzer Gepard AA system had knocked out an enamy tank and threatened the infanty men they chose to retreat and sit it out at the main base untill a peace deal could be cut with them. The lot in the village square were taken prisoner and thier arms confiscated. The rebels apologised to the mayor for the heavy damage to several of the buildings and prommised to repair it after the war. Tactics The wise use of what cover was provided by biuldings, plants, walls, cars, lapposts, etc. The aftermath Not much since a local ceasfiere was held here untill the end of the war of indipendence. Boath nations would simultaneously sign up to 1997 Ottawa Treaty (Mine Ban Treaty) in 1999. Also See #Mercia- UDI 1995 Category:Mercia- UDI 1995 Category:United Kingdom Category:Army